Glee Recap "Never Been Kissed" 2010-11-10 08:13:01

Glee-Ful Highlights From Episode "Never Been Kissed"

After a couple of weeks off and a Rocky Horror interlude, we're back to school as usual on this week's Glee. The show takes on sexuality and persecution in the same episode, and as the title implies, kissing.

Mr. Schue gets the kids ready for sectionals by assigning another boys against girls competition, and Kurt gets the spotlight as he deals with high school homophobia (but there's a silver lining). I'm very proud of some of the characters this week, and happy that Glee goes where it does. Let's recap when you

.

Kurt's fed up with the way everyone at school deals with homophobia, and when he stands up to a jock that has been pushing him around, he gets Mr. Schue's attention. When Schue asks what he can do to help, Kurt tells him that his lesson plan — pitting the boys against the girls — is stale, which prompts Schue to challenge the kids to sing a song traditionally sung by the opposite sex. Schue's act is small potatoes compared to what Kurt finds when he crashes Dalton Academy, the all-boys school that the gleeks will compete against at sectionals. They have a zero tolerance harassment policy, which brings a tear to Kurt's eye. The thought made me angry, too; why doesn't McKinley have a similar harassment policy? In any case, Blaine, Kurt's new ally (and love interest?), encourages Kurt to refuse to be the victim.

Puck's back! After getting out of juvie, he makes Artie his community service project. It's more than just pushing Artie's wheelchair, too; they busk at school, singing "One Love" together, and when Artie reveals that he's pining for Brittany, Puck declares that he's going to help Artie get her. On the most amazing double date with the most amazing dinner conversation ever (the words "Leggo my Eggo" are involved), Artie almost loses his new friend in Puck when he refuses to dine and dash. But the bromance is on: Artie tells Puck he needs a good influence in his life, and volunteers to be his tutor. I like when the show puts two unexpected characters together, and I definitely hadn't seen this coming.

Boys vs. girls indeed. Since Quinn won't "put out" (oh, the words of high school boys), Finn instructs Sam to envision a turn-off, and Sam sees Coach Beiste. The secret spreads to others in the club, like Mike and Tina, and once Schue finds out, he's infuriated. I'd been bothered by how much Coach Beiste had been treated (even her character name is insulting), so it's satisfying that Schue defends her so much. Unfortunately, when he's honest with Beiste about the kids' behavior, she quits (much to the delight of Sue and her confetti cannons).

"Teenage Dream," you guys! The Warblers, the glee club at Dalton, take on the Katy Perry hit. The a cappella performance is fun and exhilarating, and the boys singing it are so cute — especially Blaine. You can see from Kurt's face that he's smitten, and so happy to have a love interest. Blaine gives Kurt the courage to stand up to the jock that's been bullying him, and when pushed, the jock plants a kiss on Kurt's lips. While it's sad to realize the self-hatred that character is feeling, it's devastating to learn that that was Kurt's first kiss.

Kurt's not the only person who gets his first kiss this week. Coach Beiste gets a smooch from Mr. Schue when she admits that no one has ever kissed her. Her vulnerability in the scene is moving, and I'm glad that Glee hasn't totally made her character a punch line. The boys make it up to Beiste as much as they can, dedicating their mash-up of "Free Your Mind" and "Stop in the Name of Love" to her and apologizing for their insensitivity. Although . . . as good as the intention is, I have to mention that I was pretty unimpressed by the number (that's me being polite). Girls, you win with your rendition of "Livin' on a Prayer."

What did you think of this week's episode? Are you happy that Kurt finally has a friend that understands him? Tell me your thoughts below, and then head to the Glee Club in the Buzz Community to continue the dialogue!

i'm glad kurt finally has a gay friend he can talk to. maybe itll turn into a relationship, but maybe not...i'm just happy he has someone to talk to now.
the most frustrating thing about this show is that ryan murphy literally has a goldmine, but fails to keep the quality top notch. for the most part, this season has been pretty good and i'm so glad we are getting to know the other characters this season, but it is really strange how sue is hardly relevant, quinn and mercedes never talk, puck randomly goes to juvie and reappears, will is all of a sudden annoying and hipocritical, and emma is MIA!

Not a fan of making the bully gay. Its a lazy cop out but Im not surprised since Glee rarely follows up with their storylines.
Glee is the most ironic show out there. Ryan Murphy thinks hes being funny when targeting issues like racism and homophobia, but I've never seen more stereotypes than on Glee.

I loooooooove Blaine and I'm looking forward to seeing his and kurt's relationship/friendship? grow. Even if they don't date (although I hope they do!), it's nice that Kurt won't have to be alone with his struggles anymore. Also, I liked this version of Teenage Dream a million times more than Katy Perry's.
I hope that they stay away from themed episodes for a bit.... I really prefer these regular ones!!! This was my favorite episode in a while...

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. I bought the 2 mash-ups and "Teenage Dream" on iTunes as soon as it was over. My roommate and I started bumping it at 6am this morning (I'm sure our neighbors love us). Anyway I love that Kurt is a smitten kitten. Although his first kiss "that mattered" was from a rude, juicebox, bully, I foresee many happy times with him and Blaine. I'm also really happy about Mr. Schue standing up for Coach Beiste. I always feel so bad for her because everyone (Sue) is so mean to her. I'm excited to see where the rest of the season is heading. Oh and I'm totally stoked that Puck is back... Hellllllo Mark Salling! ;)

Whiplash did you ever watch Nip/Tuck? I feel like the concept of continuity is foreign to Ryan Murphy, because the way that show jumped around was exactly the same as Glee. It drives me nuts.
As a whole, I enjoyed this episode.

The best things about this episode were: very little Rachel, Puck singing, Brittany’s one one-liner, and Kurt. I hated just about everything else.
Bieste got an apology AFTER we spent much of the hour chuckling at her in demeaning sexual situations. Kurt found what looked like Hogwarts-Ohio School for Sassy (but mostly not gay) Fellas. Quinn has reverted completely to her pre-giving birth life (even goes to Sue for advice) – hasn’t even learned that maybe she shouldn’t go off and make out with guys if she doesn’t want to deal with the sexual hassle. She’s a major continuity issue – why bother to have her mother show up at the end of last season only to drop her after that?
Mercedes only exists to offer the others comforting wisdom and harmonies. Shuster is different every week; characters like Emma disappear for weeks at a time, Sue barely pops in. Why introduce someone like Cheyenne Jackson in the first show of the season – someone who can be awfully funny and sings great – then never mention him again?

I teared up for Kurt in this one - for some reason bullying REALLY gets to me, and I want people to stop doing what McKinley is doing - ie, pretending it doesn't hurt, doesn't matter, just get over it. It leaves such deep, horrible scars.
And I think it was a better look past Kurt's typical attitude toward the school - I like that we're now dealing with his aggression toward Fin, and his desperate attempts to belong. He is human, less caricature.
Though I do agree that the #1 Glee problem is continuity - we zone in on one plotline at a time, and ignore the past and weaving together. This season has been much better than the lackluster nonsense that was the 2nd part of Season 1, but it still forgets about characters for weeks at a time, and forgets about friendships and history of these characters.
Oh, and they're really making Mr. Shue make no sense - is he a ho? Why is he a stalker now toward Emma, when he completely ruined things with her and wasn't involved once he had her? At this point, I have no sympathy for him and no good will, and then he's supposed to be the good guy Bieste can trust?? He is not a good voice of reason, and if he is going to be that again, please have him grow into it, not just as it fits a story.

This show reminds me more and more of the original 90210 and how they would tackle a lot of touchy subjects and always pushed the envelope....but I think it's great!
The girls mashup was better than the boys I think.
I love that Kurt has someone to talk to regardless if he's his boyfriend or not....that football player punk kissing Kurt....TOTAL didn't see that coming!

Up until last night, I was really angry with the show for how they were treating Coach Bieste. It seemed so hypocritical that such a gay-friendly, confidence building, underdog-geared show would make a joke out of a such a masculine woman. And I agree that her name is VERY insulting.
So I'm really glad that they addressed this last night. She shouldn't be a joke.
On another note, apparently I am an idiot because I was SHOCKED when Karofsky planted one on Kurt, but even my fiancé, who almost always refuses to even be in the same room when I'm watching Glee, was like "That dude's gay." I said no way, and a second later, he grabbed Kurt and kissed him. So, yeah, I'm clueless.
Speaking of unexpected characters coming together in friendships, why haven't Quinn and Mercedes even SPOKEN to each other this year? Last season, they were on the way to becoming really good friends. I mean, Quinn lived at Mercedes' house! Mercedes was there when the baby was born. And they haven't had a scene together at all this season. Sometimes the continuity on that show SUCKS.

4 years

Kurt has been kissed before (by Brittany) but he said that that was the first kiss "that mattered" or something to that effect.

I thought this was a great episode both with the story line and with musical numbers. I'm excited about Kurt's new friend, and I hope we see him again. I thought this episode did a good job of tackling homophobia without seeming preachy or melodramatic. I love thePuck/Artie pairing. Musically, I enjoyed the Teenage Dream rendition the most, but I also enjoyed Puck and Artie singing One Love.